China has a vision of how to engage the world. The divided West needs one, too

Michael Clauss says the world is poised to usher in globalisation with Chinese characteristics – unless the US and Europe can come together to offer a strategy of their own that gives more protection to the defence of enforceable rules and human rights

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Published: 5:31pm, 5 Jul 2017Updated: 7:10pm, 5 Jul 2017

The West is losing its common vision on how to engage the world, with potentially disastrous results for the defence of global rules on equal market access, of human rights, of development and combating climate change. Illustration: Craig Stephens

China has a global strategy of engagement. The Belt and Road Initiative is only the most visible example. Its vision to create stability through development encompasses the European and Asian continents and large parts of Africa. Everywhere you see Chinese leaders travelling, you see giant pledges of further engagement, in Africa, Latin America and even Europe: more trade, more investment, and more scientific and people-to-people exchanges.

And on global governance, China has promised more engagement. It is contributing more to the UN, from UN peacekeepers to development funds. It has called for strengthening the World Trade Organisation as the core of an open multilateral trading system. It has also become more active in peace and security. In the Middle East and North Africa, China has stepped up its diplomatic activity. This has not resulted in more stability in, say, Libya, Syria or Yemen, but China at least is not part of the problem and, potentially, is part of a solution. In Afghanistan, its active diplomacy to create more stability has also not yet achieved lasting results but its profile has risen dramatically.

The accession of both Pakistan and India to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation was a diplomatic triumph and might contribute to confidence-building. And China almost single-handedly keeps the BRICS format alive, despite considerable internal problems.

A train with relief food reaches Kenya's capital Nairobi through the Mombasa-Nairobi railway last month, part of 100,000 bags of emergency food supplies that China has pledged to donate to drought-stricken Kenya. Photo: Xinhua

Why China isn’t ready to be a global leader

Are we at the threshold of a new era, a new age of “globalisation with Chinese characteristics”? What could this look like? Possibly prosperous, but more based on informal arrangements with strong hierarchy rather than enforceable rules adjudicated by independent bodies. Many, if not most, activities and new formats devised by China are China-centric.

Many, if not most, activities and new formats devised by China are China-centric